White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said President Trump did not use a racist phrase by calling the coronavirus “kung flu” during his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
During a press conference on Monday, McEnany defended the president after Trump called the virus “kung flu” during the weekend event. She claimed Trump used the phrase to remind people that the virus originated in China and that the Chinese Communist Party was slow to notify the globe about the pandemic.
“The president doesn’t [use racist phrases]. What the president does do is point to the fact that the origin of the virus is China. It’s a fair thing to point out as China tries to ridiculously rewrite history. Ridiculously blame the coronavirus on American soldiers,” McEnany said. “This is what China is trying to do.”
“What President Trump is saying, ‘No China. I will label this virus for its place of origin,'” she added.
McEnany claimed many people referred to the coronavirus as the “Wuhan virus” or the “China virus” in the early days of the pandemic before deeming such labels as racist. She said accusations that Trump has been using racist terms is media manipulation. She also noted the president has spoken out against discrimination against Asian Americans because of the virus.
“[Asian Americans] are amazing people, and the spreading of the virus is not their fault in any way, shape, or form. They are working closely with us to get rid of it, and we will prevail together, and it is very important. It’s not a discussion about Asian Americans, who the president values and prizes as citizens of this great country. It is an indictment of China for letting this virus get here,” she said.
“To be clear, I think the media is trying to play games with the terminology of this virus where the focus should be on the fact that China let this out of their country,” she later added.
